Windows 10: Start menu and other taskbar items won't open

Hello,

For some reason, my Start menu won't open, by both mouse or keyboard button. Other taskbar items (bottom right icons) aren't opening either, e.g. battery info, wifi menu, audio settings, calendar/clock, and messages. However, I can open the tray only.

I tried restarting, but it's still happening.

I tried running the following commands on Powershell, based on something else I read online:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> sfc /scannowBeginning system scan. This process will take some time.Beginning verification phase of system scan.Verification 100% complete.Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix someof them. Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. Forexample C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. Note that logging is currently notsupported in offline servicing scenarios.PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealthDeployment Image Servicing and Management toolVersion: 10.0.14393.0Image Version: 10.0.14393.0[===========================90.6%==================== ]Error: 1726The remote procedure call failed.The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.logPS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

I tried again, but the following message comes up instead:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealthDeployment Image Servicing and Management toolVersion: 10.0.14393.0Image Version: 10.0.14393.0Error: 1910The object exporter specified was not found.The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.logPS C:\WINDOWS\system32>


​Please let me know what I can do!

:)

 

Start menu and other taskbar items won't work in Windows 10?

Refresh Windows 10:

Refresh Windows 10

 

Start menu and other taskbar items won't work in Windows 10?

Hello there!

I've been having some problems with Windows 10 ever since my installation back in November. Quite frankly I assumed there would be a broad fix for these by now but as there has not been then maybe somebody else can help me. For some details I use a Toshiba
L650 with an i5 processor. The computer originally came with Windows 7 when I bought it back in 2010 and it has run incredibly well since then, that is until my update.

Here's the issue, as with many other people I've been having trouble with using my taskbar. Here is an itemized list of the issues.

• Start Menu won't respond to left click
• Applications won't respond to right click
• Items such as Battery, Network & Sharking, Clock, and Volume won't respond to left click

I've tried every fix I've come across from the Powershell fix to the New User Account fix and none of them have worked. At this point, nearly 6 months later, I'm growing frustrated with Microsoft's inability to solve this glaring issue. It significantly
inhibits the way I interface with my device and it's growing old.

Thanks for your potential help with this issue, hopefully we can get this resolved!

 

I just had this problem on a clients PC. Reinstalling the Windows 10 apps worked for me. Follow these steps:

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-r...in-windows-10/

 

@mahoneycutt thanks for the suggestion. I tried the first part, reinstalling all apps using Powershell, and restarted, but still nothing I'm afraid *Sad

 

still nothing guys....any suggestions at all? quite a pain as it means i can't access programs easily (unless they're already pinned to my taskbar)

 

Create a new user, if you can't access control panel use a powershell or the CMD, to create a user
Problem solved *Biggrin i hope

 

I think you will probably end up here:
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade

 

@kimkl thanks for the reply. can i ask if there's a specific command I should input to do this?

 

Hold/press Windows key + R

Type: control userpasswords2

Then a user account window will open click add, answer the questions and so on, then log in with new user should fix most problems, but no guarantee

windows key + x select admin cmd,
but if your start menu is fubar this might not work
open a admin cmd and type this if i got it right
net user "username" "password" /add

 

Press the Windows key+X choose Command Prompt (as Admin)
Here type netplwiz and press enter

 

You then need to tick user must type in password or what ever to unlock the boxes, unless they are unlocked, i do not use pw so mine was greyed but one of the ways above from me or the pirate should work

 

@spunk @kimkl, ok, i tried that, using the windows key + R. made a new user, new password etc, made it an administrator. signed out, then signed in using new user account. but still the start menu doesn't open *Sad

 

@spunk @kimkl, not sure if this has anything to do with it, but just now when I tried to open the calculator app (which has been pinned to my taskbar for ages), it opens, but stays on the calculator logo (i.e. no buttons etc appear), then it closes itself? some problem with the default windows 10 apps perhaps?

 

finally have a solution, after seeking help on another forum! thought this would help in case anyone else gets the same problem in the future and has tried all the solutions i have. might be worth trying some of these earlier steps shown here first, rather than going straight to the end, as your problem may be slightly different to mine (i don't think most people will have had to try quite as many solutions as i have!):

first i tried some of the steps here, and used the start menu troubleshooter: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...t-menu-cortana

however, the troubleshooter showed me the following, but said it wasn't able to fix the issue:
"Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost" and "Microsoft.Windows.Cortana" applications need to be installed correctly.

i then tried the following suggestion:

Registering the two identified problems:

• Microsoft.Windows.Cortana
• Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost

Assuming your Windows is installed on the C drive, then try the following:

• In your search box type powershell
• In the search results right-click on Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator
• When prompted by the User Account Control click Yes
• In the Administrator: Windows PowerShell window type or copy & paste the following:

Code:
Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode
Press Enter key then type or copy & paste the following:

Code:
Add-AppxPackage -register "C:\Windows\SystemApps\ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode
Press Enter key

Sample image





When done close the Windows PowerShell window and any other open programs.

Now Restart computer.

That didn't work for me personally, so I next tried this:

Boot into Safe Mode

Press Windows Key + R key then in the run dialog type msconfig and click OK

Now select the Boot tab then check the Safe Boot option and click Apply/OK and restart computer.

This should take you to Safe mode. Sign in, and see whether the Start menu works there.

Now repeat above steps, but this time in the Boot tab remove the check next to Safe boot then click Apply/OK so you can restart and boot into a normal Desktop mode.

This again didn't work for me, but this final solution DID:


In-place upgrade of the operating system.

Basically, that involves downloading the latest Windows.iso image from Microsoft, then mounting the image and running the Setup.exe with the intention of reinstalling Windows 10 over the top of itself. You can choose to save files and settings during the process, but be aware that third party applications may end up in a Windows.old folder, so you may need to re-install those later.

This article on this Forum explains how to go about getting the Windows.iso image, which you need to download.

https://www.windows10forums.com/arti...ows-10-iso.35/

When you have that, then opened and run it, and eventually receive the Windows.iso file, you then right-click on this download and select Mount, then in the folder that opens, click the Setup.exe to begin the process. In the later stages, you can't use your PC (it warns you at this stage about this), so make sure you don't have urgent work to do at this time! Or you can put it off til later. It didn't take too long for me, I went away to do some cooking, came back and it after signing in, it took a few minutes just to set itself up.

After that, Start menu, taskbar icons etc all worked fine! So persevere, and you will get results!

If you are going to later re-install any third party programs, then perhaps do one at a time, and wait to make sure its not one of these third party programs that is somehow interfering with the Start menu.

If you'd rather not go down this route, then the only other option would be to make use of a Restore point you may have which pre-dates the date your Start menu stopped working. Or even resetting your PC completely, first keeping your apps and files, and if that doesn't work, backup your files and reset completely.

Let me know if anyone has any questions regarding the solutions I found or my results with each step. Would be happy to help. Very frustrating experience but very pleased now!